Re: [Leica] Leica 400 2.8 vs Canon 500 f4

["Henning J. Wulff" <henningw@archiphoto.com>]

>This is NOT a troll.
>
>I presently shoot all Leica 35mm (R stystem).  My longest lense is the
>Leica 280
>f4 and I have the 1.4 converter.  I am very happy with this lense but I
>want to
>add a longer lense to my setup.
>
>My question?
>
>    The Leica 400 2.8 runs around $11,000.   The new Canon 500IS runs around
>$7,500 plus I would need to buy an EOS 3 to use with the lense for a total
>cost
>of around $9,000.
>
>    My question to anyone with experience with these systems is do I stay with
>all Leica or should I save some money + give myself a 3rd camera body and
>go with
>the Canon?  My heart says to stay with Leica but I'm wondering if the
>autofocus
>and lightness (Canon 500 weighs around 7lbs while the Leica 400 weighs almost
>13lbs.) make a huge difference.
>
>    Has anyone seen "side-by-side" comparisons of 35mm transparencies shot
>with
>Leica long lenses vs. Canon long lenses?   I want to be able to make
>Ilfochromes
>out of selected slides up to size 16 x 20.  I can do that with my Leica
>lenses so
>far but am not sure about the Canon stuff.
>
>    Thanks for your help.
>
>    Gary

I don't have Leica R stuff (M for Me), but I do use some Canon items. Their
long 'L' lenses have generally been excellent. The published MTF curves I
saw recently indicated that the optical performance has been raised again
in the IS lenses, and I personally feel that IS technology is the best
thing that has come along in camera engineering since TTL metering. IS is
technology that is unobtrusive, no real downside and does what it promises.
All the metering pattern stuff, AF etc. pales in comparison. I got into
Canon for the tilt/shift stuff, but am using mostly for the IS.

If you need action stopping ability, obviously you need all the lens speed
you can get. Otherwise, a slower IS lens is the answer.

   *            Henning J. Wulff
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